The Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia (Macedonian

Macedonian language

Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

: Меморијален центар на холокаустот на Евреите од Македонија, Memorijalen centar na holokaustot na Evreite od Makedonija; Ladino

Judaeo-Spanish

Judaeo-Spanish , in Israel commonly referred to as Ladino, and known locally as Judezmo, Djudeo-Espanyol, Djudezmo, Djudeo-Kasteyano, Spaniolit and other names, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish...

: Sentro Memorial del Holokausto de los Djudios de la Makedonia) is a memorial to the holocaust

The Holocaust

The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

 of the 7,148 Jews from Macedonia and the history of the Jews in the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

, located in Skopje

Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, the capital city

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

 of the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

.

The Holocaust Memorial Center is a multimedia center, consisting of several functional parts.

The construction works began in 2005.

The Memorial Center is located in the so-called Jewish Quarter of Skopje, which was the center of Jewish life in this city until the deportation of the Jews. The museum is located behind the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Skopje)

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle is a national museum of the Republic of Macedonia located in the capital city of Skopje. Construction of the museum began June 11th 2008 and it was opened to the public on the 20th anniversary of the declaration of independence on September 8th, 2011...

, which faces the Vardar

Vardar

The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....

 River.

The Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia was officially opened on 10 March 2011, exactly 68 years after the Macedonian Jews were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp

Treblinka extermination camp

Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...

.

The opening was attended by high-ranking officials from Macedonia, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and other countries, notably the Macedonian prime minister

Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia is the head of government of the Republic of Macedonia. He or she is the leader of a political coalition in the Macedonian parliament and the leader of the cabinet...

 Nikola Gruevski

Nikola Gruevski

Nikola Gruevski has been Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia since 27 August 2006. He has led VMRO-DPMNE since May 2003. He was Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubčo Georgievski until September 2002.- Personal life :...

, the Macedonian president

President of the Republic of Macedonia

The President of the Republic of Macedonia is the head of state of the Republic of Macedonia. The institution of the Presidency of the modern Republic of Macedonia began after the Macedonian declaration of independence on 8 September 1991. Its first president was Kiro Gligorov, the oldest president...

 Gjorge Ivanov, Israeli vice-prime minister Moshe Ya'alon

Moshe Ya'alon

Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, as well as the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs.-Early life:...

, the presidents of Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 and Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 Filip Vujanović

Filip Vujanovic

Filip Vujanović is a Montenegrin politician who, since 2003, has served as the President of Montenegro. He is the first President of Montenegro since it split ties with Serbia and became an independent nation in June 2006...

 and Bamir Topi

Bamir Topi

Bamir Myrteza Topi is the fifth and current President of Albania since 24 July 2007. He was also Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007.-Early life and public activities:...

 respectively, as well as a member of the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

, religious leaders and diplomats.

The memorial center sparked big interest. Only three days after the opening, it was visited by more than 3,000 people.